Samsung announces 5 MP camera phone

Samsung has today unveiled the world's first 5MP camera phone with a CCD, the SCH-S250. A spokesman for the company said "the picture quality is good enough to compare with five megapixel digital cameras", but we'll reserve judgement on that one. It has a 92MB internal memory as well as an MP3 player. Samsung, the world's third largest handset maker, said the camera module was jointly developed with Japanese company Asahi Pentax.

Press Release:

SAMSUNG Introduces World’s First 5-Megapixel Camera Phone

A true digital convergence product that combines a gamut of innovative technologies including a “true color” LCD (16 million colors), Text-To-Speech conversion capability, as well as, a 5-megapixel CCD camera.

The “stretch” design protects the lens and LCD while providing a digital camera feel

SEOUL, Korea – October 20, 2004 – Samsung Electronics unveils the world's first mobile phone (model: SCH-S250) equipped with a 5-megapixel camera. Just one year after the introduction of its first 1-megapixel camera phone and 3 months after its first 3.2-megapixel camera phone, Samsung proves its technological prowess again with this revolutionary product.

The CCD (charge-coupled device) camera and high-sensitivity flash allow the user to take the same quality pictures one gets from a top-end digital camera. Similar to Samsung's premium grade camera phones, the S250 can also function as a camcorder. The 92MB onboard memory can store up to 100 minutes of video (320x240), and a 32MB auxiliary memory is included as a standard feature. The shutter speed is as fast as 1/1,000 th of a second, allowing the user to film beautiful landscapes as well as subjects as close as 10 cm. The S250 can be connected to a TV to display video during shooting or to show footage that has already been recorded in the mobile phone.

The S250 comes with a unique “stretch” design, reminiscent of the futuristic phones seen in the movie The Matrix . The high-quality camera lens and LCD remain covered and protected when the phone is closed, and when it is stretched open, the product has the feel of a regular digital camera.

Samsung has also set a new standard in mobile phone display technology. Until now, mobile phones had been equipped with LCDs capable of 262,000-color resolution. The S250 boasts a QVGA TFD-LCD (Thin Film Diode-Liquid Crystal Display) that has previously been adapted only for top-end TVs and desktop monitors. The display can reproduce 16 million colors, over 60 times the color compared to existing mobile phone displays, all the hues found in nature; thus, QVGA resolution has been referred to as “true color.”

Samsung has also taken voice recognition to a higher level by introducing text-to-speech (TTS) conversion. Now the user can listen to incoming text messages or the prepared “to-do” list rather than having to read them.

The S250 supports high-image-quality games and 3D sound effects. If a call is received in the middle of a game, the user can restore the game later and resume play.

Other advanced functions in the S250 include an MP3 player, mobile banking capability and 64-polyphonic sound.

According to President & CEO Kitae Lee of the Samsung Electronics, “Our development of a 5-megapixel camera phone will elevate the competitiveness of the Korean mobile phone industry. At the same time, I would like to see our technological advances contribute to the growth of the global mobile phone industry and create a more convenient way of life.”

President Lee adds, “It's very important to lead the trends through continuous introductions of innovative new products. Samsung Electronics possesses the world's leading technologies and state-of-the-art design capabilities, and we are committed to developing distinctive products for our customers.”

Samsung cooperated with the Japan-based Asahi Pentax, one of the most respected camera lens providers in the world, to develop a camera module customized for the mobile phone. This partnership began in the first-half of 2003.